124
by NobleBrokenBeauty
Summary: One hundred twenty four inventions, at only age eighteen. Cornelius Robinson looks back on his past and forward on his future to see how it all began.


**A/N: Congrats everyone! We made to one hundred twenty four MTR fanfics (Well, one hundred twenty five including this one.) –fireworks, parade music "dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun!" – I was going to do this at one hundred, but since Lewis went through one hundred and twenty five adoption interviews, I thought it was more fitting. I used a few of doodlegirll's story ideas, and those aren't mine. Other than that, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Cornelius Robinson stood in the middle of the observatory work room, looking at what he had created for himself and for the world. Only in the past six years had he accomplished such a feat. Over and over he repeated it to himself.

One hundred twenty four.

One hundred twenty four.

_One hundred__ twenty four__ inventions_.

That number might not have meant a lot to other people. One hundred, five hundred, or one thousand would have been a more of a memorable achievement. But for him it was something totally different.

It had been a miracle, a pure spark of hope that had almost never happened. And thinking back, he remembered that very day in the science fair, when his whole life had turned around. But he would never forget the day he thought of it all…

_Lewis stormed upstairs with angry tears in his eyes. He didn't fit in anywhere! Maybe that was all orphanages were for—to house the kids who didn't fit in. The parents didn't want them, so why were they there? After too-many-to-count interviews, he just wanted to give up. All he wanted he his real mother! He didn't want some replacement! He wanted a _real_ family!_

_He wanted to be really loved.__ All this time he had seen other children with their families at the talents shows, at the school plays, even getting picked up from school was something that Lewis envied. Those kids had no idea how lucky there were. Wasn't there some possible way that he could be like those kids, too?_

_He wracked his brain for what seemed like the millionth time for any glimmer of a memory from that fateful night, but it was no use. He simply couldn't remember that far back._

_If there was only some way he could__ though. He wanted to see his mother, see his father, and be part of a real family. He didn't want to be the odd one out in his class anymore. He wanted to be normal._

_But he knew he was never going to be normal, with his exploding inventions and __stand-__outish__ hair. _

_He slowly pulled out his invention notebook, skimming the pages for something to develop, something to make him feel better._

_That was when he thought of it._

_He pulled he pencil out from behind his ear and began to draw the curving lines, the materials needed__ and what he would have to do. When he was finished__ with the__ drawing__, he looked at it longingly. It would be perfect._

Cornelius made his way over to the machine now. It had given him so much: happiness, success, friends, and most of all, a family. What more could he ask for?

This machine was all shiny and new. But he still had the prototype. He still had the one that Doris ruined to destroy the future. He hadn't forgotten that day when it had all gone wrong, when everything was a mess. He didn't think he would ever forget it. That day he felt he would never find his mother, never find his family, and never find his place in life. And he never wanted to relive that horrible feeling again.

_He had everyone watching him at the science fair; all eyes were on him and his invention. Lewis knew in his heart that this was the start of something great. He just knew it._

_"Have__ you ever forgotten something and no matter how hard you tried,__ you couldn't remember it?"__ he recited from memory, just as he had planned it the night before._

_His heart swelled with pride as he placed the headphones over his ears and inputted__ the specific date. It was now that he would get to see his real mother and be with his real family. His mother had been the only one who had ever loved him and wanted him, as Mildred had said. Everything would be finally perfect._

_The memory scanner whirred__ and the fan spun. Lewis' smile grew until the fan on the top of the machine spun off and away, breaking half of the projects and lights in sight. Lewis watched in horror as the science fair was turned into chaos__ before him._

_This wasn't supposed to happen! Everything was supposed to go right! A hard grief crushed his heart in one easy swoop as he could do nothing but watch as his future crashed down around him. He failed. He would now never see his mother. Everything was ruined._

_He had looked forward to this moment so much. He - he just wanted to fit in! Anger swelled within his chest and he felt hot tears appear in his eyes__. It was too late. He'd never be anything now. He would just give up._

How different he felt now. He'd learned that he didn't need to have a normal family, or be a normal person, or have a normal life to fit in. His adoptive parents were probably the weirdest people he had ever met (aside from the rest of the Robinsons – and especially Wilbur) but he loved them all the same He just had to be happy with who he was and where his life was going.

His parents were so supportive of all of the things he had done and accomplished. Plaques, medals, pictures, and newspaper clippings adorned the walls, all pictures including himself, Bud, and Lucille all together. Looking at those picture made him just smile with pride. They made up his entire life. He couldn't have asked for better parents.

Disrupting his thoughts, his cell phone rang somewhere on his desk hidden beneath papers, pencils, and scraps of new inventions. He scrambled to find it, but the hone stopped ringing, and the beeping noise went off a minute later, telling him he had a voice message. Finally he found his phone under a stack of new C4R1 parts and checked his messages.

"Hi, Lewis, sweetie, it's Franny. I was wondering if you'd like to see Frankie and the band rehearse tonight. After they're done, we can go for dinner and a walk around the park. Call me back soon. Bye."

Cornelius smiled to himself, making a mental note to call Franny back as soon as possible. He placed his cell phone back on his desk.

She was one of the nicest people he had ever met and she really understood him like nobody else had before. She knew what it was like to be made fun of when she was younger. That was one of the reasons that had brought them together. But they didn't need to worry about that now.

Franny was also the only person who still called him Lewis, besides Wilbur. He didn't mind it either. 'Lewis' reminded him of his childhood, while 'Cornelius' reminded him of the future that he would soon have.

Wilbur. The mere name of his best friend and future son put a smile on his face with how many times they had gotten into trouble or nearly destroyed the time machine multiple times. Like the time when the time machine had been stolen by Nash and Wilbur had been sent back to the time of the dinosaurs. When the six kids had appeared out of nowhere: that had left him speechless as well. Nothing would be the same after every time Wilbur left, or he left the future, but no matter how it ended, it left Cornelius smiling until the next time Wilbur came around.

He sat down at his desk and looked at the piles of notebooks, papers, and parts of new inventions. His smile grew wider.

And even though he was only eighteen, he knew great things would come from this work. All he would have to do was keep moving forward.

Cornelius sighed, getting up from his desk, and headed down to his door. He turned for one last look, his hand on the light switch. The future looked so bright.

The future would come much too soon.

* * *

**A/N: I don't really have anything to say here except… please review!**


End file.
